B is for Blind Justice
by writingcreature
Summary: One Shot - After an incident Don is carrie to the hospital, there he meets someone special - COMPLETE


Title: B is for Blind Justice  
Disclaimer: I don't owe nothing, just entertaining the fans.  
Rated: PG-13

**B is for Blind Justice**

Don and his team pulled up their cars close to the other vehicles. An assault team was building up around the run-down craftsman. The area was completely blocked off.

They jumped out of the SUV's and hurried to the other side of the street looking for cover behind a black and white.  
"Status?" Don barked.

"ATF is ready, EMS vans, too. The plan is to shoot in tear gas canisters and force everyone out of the house," Lt. Walker said and licked his lips.

His radio cracked, "assault team ready. Marksmen in place," the static voice said.

"Okay," Gary replied, "if our "friends" come out, we force them to the ground and pick them up."

"You don't think they come out hands in die the air, do you?" Colby snapped, "They've already killed."

"If they come out shooting … we're prepared, believe me."

Don put on the Kevlar vest and plugged in his ear phone.

"What are you going to do?" Megan was alarmed.

"It was my fault Christine Willard died. Two other victims are still in there."

"AND?" Gary snapped.

"Before hell breaks loose let me talk to Roberts. I know he's in there and I know he's gotta listening to me. I make him an offer he can't resist." Don was about leaving the cover.

Colby held him back, "I don't consider this as a good idea. He's insane. And don't forget the wild card in this siege, the explosives. We knew they have bombs. Remember the Union Station two weeks ago?!"

Don was nervous and agitated, "listen, I want this over. No more bloodshed, no more collateral damages. It ends here and now."

"What offer?" Megan got into it before Don got up.

He just shook his head and checked his equipment.

Gary told the others what he was thinking, "You are going to offer yourself in exchange for the hostages, aren't you?"

Don swallowed, closed his eyes briefly and left his team and Walker behind without further ado.

"This is suicide," Colby hollered out while Gary barked into his radio to inform the others about Don's decision.

-----

Inside the craftsman Roberts' goons were about going crazy. One of them was crouched below a shattered front window, sizing up the scene.

"None of us is going to survive this. God damned there's an army outside Roberts! What are you going to do? What, tell me?!" he yelled at his boss.

Roberts seemed calm and relaxed. He went over to another window and peeked through the curtains. He discovered Don. He was coming closer, holding a cell phone in his right hand while his left hand was in the air.

"Roberts come on, talk to us. Tell us what to do. Any moment armed men could burst in," sweat was pouring down his face.

"Don't be such a baby Marcus," Roberts said.

Suddenly the phone rang. For a split second everyone held its breath. The sound reminded them of alarm bells.

"Marcus you want to be a hero for a day, go and get the call," Roberts sneered.

His goon felt paralyzed.

"Get the damned call Marcus!"

Marcus got up slowly, with trembling fingers he picked up the phone and listened for a second.

"Its agent Eppes, he wants to talk to you," he whined.

Roberts looked at is perfect manicured nails. Sounding bored he said, "Tell him to call later."

Marcus was undecided, "it could be our last chance," he whispered in despair.

"Tell him to call later and hang up!" Roberts hissed.

-----

"You goddamned sonofabitch," Don cursed. He'd been sure about his offer but totally miscalculated Roberts' reaction.

-----

Roberts took a look at the two hostages. The girls were still drugged. Too bad they would never see the sunlight again like him and all the others in the craftsman. He'd never planned to surrender. For him it was all or nothing. He glanced at the metal box under the stairs and fumbled his cell phone out of his trouser pocket. No matter how hard he tried to make the best out of this situation. He'd lost. But he wouldn't go back to jail.

He went back into the living room and raised his voice, "I'm not going out there. None of us is." He dialed a five digit number while he was talking. "It's been an honor to serve with you guys."

The phone rang three times and then …

-----

The last thing Don saw was a gigantic flash.

-----

His team was still crouched behind the black and white vehicle. There were huge orange flashes as the windows exploded. A fiery cloud ripped the entire building apart through the roof. The blast hurled them backward lifted a shower of debris, a searing gust over them. Slowly they got back up.

Colby was the one who yelled, "DON!"

The craftsman had disappeared; there was only smoke, fire, and a huge crater.

Don lay on the ground in front of this disaster motionless. Face down.

"We need an ambulance, God damned, somebody help us please!" Colby hollered out in desperation.

-----

_Ten days later_

He felt like a diver reaching the surface in slow motion. His body felt numb. He heard muffled sounds. Bleep, bleep, bleep a steady rhythm, a voice from far away. He forced his eyes open to find out where he was. But nothing happened; he was still surrounded by darkness. Okay, maybe it was in the middle of the night, he told himself. Maybe he was still asleep and dreaming. Another try, nothing. He moaned loudly, his throat felt sore.

Charlie startled put his cell phone aside and turned round.

"Don, it's me Charlie. You're in the hospital. Everything's fine."

No, nothing was fine. He felt no pain but this was because he was filled up with pain relievers for sure.

"I … I … my eyes," he could hardly speak. His voice was nothing more than a croak.

"Dad was here, too. He will be glad to hear you're back."

Don tried it again, "my eyes."

Slowly he lifted his hand wanted to touch his face.

Charlie stopped him gently, "its ok Don, you're eyes are covered with gauze pads. Therefore you can't see. Remember the explosion?"

The explosion, the explosion, the explosion echoed in Don's head. And while Charlie kept on talking Don's mind drifted away. Suddenly he found himself back on the street in front of the craftsman. Though he knew what'd happened he wasn't able to move. KA BOOM! He was blinded by the light and the detonation knocked him off his feet.

"…the doctor said it'll take it's time," his younger brother told him. But Don was too tired to listen. He felt in a deep dreamless sleep.

------

_Two days later_

Don sat upright in his bed. His eyes were still covered. He suffered severe injuries from the explosion not only in the face. There were four broken rips and his spleen had to be removed. Colby and the others had paid him a visit telling him how lucky he was to be alive. Yes, he was alive but all he could see was a blurry vision of his environment. Few minutes ago he sent Charlie and Alan away. He wasn't in the mood dishing about family affairs. He wasn't in the mood for anything. The nurse brought some food on a tray and placed it in front of him. Ever tried eating with your eyes closed? No, why should you? He barked a laugh. He felt despair and anger bubbling inside gritted his teeth and clenched his right hand into a fist. Tears were burning in his blind eyes. He drew a breath through his teeth and swallowed hard while putting his head back.

"Excuse me Sir!" a thin voice said.

He jerked his head and snapped, "Who is it?"

"I … I'm Maggie. I heard you're a real FBI agent. Never seen one before except on TV, so is it true what they say?"

Don calmed down a little. His visitor was obvious a kid. He lifted one side of his mouth, "yes Maggie it's true."

He heard her steps coming closer to his bed.

He startled as a cold tiny hand touched his lower arm, "what happened to you agent?"

He gave her a weak smile, "you are a very curious little lady, aren't you?"

She giggled, "Actually I'm eleven and I spent a lot of time here. You have to know I have leukemia."

She sat down on his bed and started to talk. She told him she'd spent more time in this hospital than outside and about her numerous chemo therapies. Now she was hoping for a bone marrow transplant, her last chance. She talked about it like it was the most natural thing on earth. She wasn't angry and she wasn't wallowing in self-pity either.

"Maggie? Maggie Harlan are you in there?" a nurse was peeking through the door.

The little girl got up looking guilty. Her cheeks flushed red.

The nurse slipped into the room and closed the door behind her back.

"How often have I told you, you can't sneak into other patient's rooms? They need to rest. Agent Eppes …"

"I'm fine," he cut her short; "we're only talking. Could you please remove the tray? I'm not hungry."

Maggie turned her head, "no, I want the ice-cream, I love it," she whispered.

Don cleared the throat, "uh or better leave it. Maybe I take a bite or two."

Sighing the nurse winked at Maggie and said, "Don't stay here too long. Dr. Lawrence will be looking for you later."

The little girl nodded and grinned from ear to ear.

After the nurse was gone Maggie hopped onto Don's bed again and spooned the ice-cream into her mouth.

"Wanna taste some?" asked Maggie.

"Why not?" Don said.

Carefully she shoved the spoon into Don's mouth and giggled.

"What's so funny?" he mumbled while the vanilla ice was melting in his mouth.

"You're the grown up and I'm the kid. Normally it should be you feeding me."

He couldn't help but started to grin.

"Want some more? I can also help you with the food."

"No thanks," he shook his head and fumbled for the drinking cup. She helped him.

"So now tell me what happened to you agent?" she said putting the cup aside.

"Don't call me agent all the time, my name is Don," he said with a soft voice.

Then it was his turn.

Maggie's eyes got bigger and bigger. And from time to time he heard her saying, "uh, wow, mhm."

After he'd finished half of the tray was empty. Maggie had curled up next to him and he'd put a hand around her shoulders protectively.

When Don woke up later, Maggie was gone. He buzzed for the nurse cause the pain in his abdomen was getting worse.

According to her voice it was the same nurse like before her name was Charlene.

"I hope Maggie wasn't disturbing you. She's such a cutie. We all love her. She looks like a little angel."

She exchanged the IV bag.

"She's sweet," Don agreed, "and she told me about her illness. She must be a real fighter. Do you know her parents?"

"There's only her brother Tristan. He's twenty. Their parents died few years ago in a car crash."

"Oh," Don's heart throbbed. Suddenly he felt a big lump in his throat.

"I'm coming back later agent Eppes, take your time. Do you need anything else? Some more water?"

"Yes, please," he muttered.

Maggie became a regular visitor. She even introduced Tristan to him. Compared to his little sister the young man was shy and didn't talk too much. Maggie was the entertainer definitely. Meanwhile Don had exchanged his gauze pads with dark glasses. His vision was still blurry and bright light hurt him, too.

One day Maggie didn't show up. Curious Don got out of bed and walked over to the counter. Nurse Charlene was on duty and she'd no good news for him.

"Maggie's condition had changed dramatically last night. She would need this bone marrow transplant urgently. But there's still no donor in sight." She sighed.

"Let me try. I mean is there a doctor who could check my blood or whatever he needs?" Don said spontaneously.

Charlene got up, "of course."

"What do I have to do?"

"First, you complete a short health questionnaire and sign a form stating you understand what being on the Registry means. Then you give a small blood sample or swab of cheek cells to be tested for your tissue type, and this information is added to the Registry."

"That's all?"

"For the moment," she replied and told him where he had to go to for the whole procedure.

Don's heart hammered in his chest. Maybe he could help the little girl to regain her health. She'd done so much for him. He hoped he could return the favor.

But his dreams shattered when he got the results: no match.

"Not this time Sir," the doctor said regretfully, "but who knows you'd probably save someone else's life in the future."

He tapped Don's shoulder and left. Don followed him outside and asked the nurse at the counter for Maggie's room number.

As her room was darkened he was able to put his glasses down. Still everything was blurry but it was getting better every day. He went over to her bed. Carefully because he thought she was asleep.

But she wasn't, "hi agent," she said weakly, "you come to rescue me?" she tried to smile.

"I wish I could," he said in a choked voice.

"Never mind, I'm sure you tried the best you could, didn't you?"

He nodded yes took the tiny cold hand into his and squeezed it gently, "where is Tristan?"

"Downstairs, he looked so miserable I thought he could need some distraction and so I asked him to get me some Twinkies. I love Twinkies," her voice faded. She closed her eyes.

"Maggie?" he called her name softly.

She fluttered her eyes open, "I'm still here. I'm just so tired. Could you stay for a while so I don't have to be alone?"

Don sat down beside her still holding hand. The strong Maggie he met was gone. The little girl in front of him seemed so fragile and vulnerable. He closed his sore eyes. His mind was spinning. In the past few weeks even his dreams were woven with bits and pieces of reality which left sleeping very uneasy. He was bruised and battered and defeated. There was nothing he could do for this little girl except sitting at her side and holding her hand.

Tristan sneaked into the room, "hi Don," he whispered, "glad you came along. She was asking for you."

Don put Maggie's hand gently on her stomach and got up.

"Hello Tristan. I'm … I'm so sorry. But there's still hope, isn't it?"

Tristan shrugged, "her condition had never been so worse. I doubt …" his voice failed.

Silence spread out. Tristan turned away lent his forehead against the painted concrete wall and tapped with the flat of his hand against it. Don felt a gigantic lump in his throat. He wasn't able to say a word. So he put his hand heavy on Tristan's shoulder.

Maggie lost her struggle for life the next morning. Two hours later the hospital received a message that they've found a matching bone marrow donor.

Charlie picked Don up from the hospital in the late afternoon.

He found his elder brother in his room sitting on the bed holding a crumpled drawing in his hand his head on his chest.

"Hi, bro are you ready to leave?" asked Charlie.

Don looked up. Tears were running down his cheeks, "she's gone Charlie, she's gone," he whispered. He held out his hand. It was trembling. Charlie took the drawing.

"Tristan has drawn it for me. It was Maggie's last wish," he sniffled and wiped the tears away with the palm of his hand.

Charlie unfolded the drawing. It was a stunning portrait of Don wearing dark glasses. Underneath there was written _"Blind Justice"._

_Cast me gently  
Into morning  
For the night has been unkind  
Take me to a  
Place so holy  
That I can wash this from my mind  
The memory of choosing not to fight_

Sarah McLaghlan "Answer" It was this song that inspired me for writing this story.

**THE END**


End file.
